Chapter 73

73 Calling the Queen – Part ~ TARKYN ~

Elreth sucked in a breath, a cloud shadowing her eyes. She flinched. “Seriously, Tarkyn?”

Tarkyn clawed a hand through his hair. “It feels like since the second I woke up after the rite you’ve done nothing but question me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? I turned Anima over looking for you! I thanked the Creator when we found you. I question them, Tarkyn. For the Creator’s sake, none of us are immune to being wrong, or deceived or... or affected by things we don’t understand! I’m standing in protection of my people-including you!”

“So do I!”

She stared at him long and hard, those shadows still passing behind her eyes, but then she nodded. “I believe you. I do. I just... I’m scared, Tarkyn. And we’ve got so few of the guards here. It feels like this will take a single breath from the wrong direction and our entire lives will fall apart.”

“That’s your fear talking. Put your faith in the Creator and let His breath blow, Elreth. This has to have happened for a reason. They arrived three months ago-just when my heart began to ache for my mate, and hers drew her to me. She’s been searching. And she found me, just in time to save my life-and at exactly the same time you ran into her Alphas.

“Can you imagine what would have come of this if she and I weren’t mates? If we’d just found them out there? All hell would have broken loose. You can’t believe that she and I were brought together at that time by accident?”

“Of course not,” Elreth muttered.

.....

“So let’s get this fucking finished!” he growled.

Aaryn stepped closer with a low growl of his own, but Tarkyn didn’t take his eyes from Elreth. “I submitted to you in her presence. I asked her to trust me to get through to you. I have done everything I can to show you that my heart remains true, and now I’m telling you it’s time for action, El. These people have been wounded-worse than us. So let’s figure out how to forge peace.”

Elreth took a deep breath and glanced at Aaryn. He knew that look. Obviously they’d discussed this already. Tarkyn’s heart swelled with gratitude for the male. He’d known Aaryn would have a heart for the disenfranchised Chimera if he knew their story.

Then Gar cleared his throat, and Tarkyn’s hope soared. Gar had reason to trust and negotiate as well.

“I think he’s right, El. I think it’s time to just talk to them.”

“I don’t doubt that they were hurt by the humans, but the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend.”

Tarkyn leaped in. “No, but my mate is our friend-or would be. Her heart is good, Elreth-and if these are the people who saved her, I’m guessing their hearts are, also!”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Elreth’s lips went thin. “I want this to be true, Tarkyn, I do,” she said quietly. “But I can’t just take your word for it-”

“I’m not asking you to-I’m asking you to stop balking and start talking. Let’s go. Let’s do this. Because the only one who can build a bridge is you, El. Have you realized that? Nothing else matters if you refuse to move. This all hinges on you, and you’re the one holding us back!”

Elreth threw up her hands and turned to stalk away, but only to pace the floor. “I’ve already spoken to Sasha-the female Alpha-before all of this went to hell. She doesn’t want war, but her mate-”

“I know the questions to ask now,” Tarkyn insisted. “Let me talk to him, El. Warrior to Warrior. Mate to mate. I’m bonded to one of his now-he should be able to scent that. Let me talk to him.”

Elreth didn’t stop pacing. She chewed her lip, her hands opening and closing at her sides indicating she was so deep in thought she wasn’t aware of her body language. Then she turned to look at Aaryn and Gar. “Do you both agree? Do you think the gains are worth the risk?”

Aaryn nodded. Then Gar shrugged and opened his hand, as if it was her decision.

But Tarkyn’s anger burned again-she thought it was a risk for him to talk to this male?

But Elreth must have caught scent of his irritation because she shook her head and turned back to him. “The risk of losing you, Tarkyn. I am already working with a skeleton of guards-do you think I want to take any steps that would put us at risk of losing you?”

“You won’t lose me when the enemy is on the other side of prison bars.”

Elreth huffed her skepticism. “And a year ago we didn’t have to worry about any other human getting into Anima, remember? We sacrificed to make that certain... and it’s no longer certain.”

All of them sagged a little at that. Grief speared through Tarkyn, and it had to have been worse for Elreth and Gar, he knew.

Tarkyn cleared his throat. “I know it hurts, El,” he said softly. “It hurts me too, I can’t imagine how it hurts you. But we can’t let this make us spiral into nothing but fear. Our loved ones’ sacrifice wasn’t for nothing.” He glanced at El and Gar, then Aaryn. “The Creator didn’t bring these people here to destroy us, I’m certain of it. They’re seeking the freedom we fought to achieve. They literally asked this... this gateway thing to take them to a place where the humans could never hurt them again. And the Creator brought them here. He gave me a mate among them to bring us all together.”

The other three looked at each other, then Elreth muttered something under her breath and stalked towards the door, shaking her head. All three males watched her go, uncertain.

But when she reached the door, she turned to look at them. “Well? Aren’t you coming?”

Yes. Yes, they were. Tarkyn hurried towards her and the door, and the path outside that would lead them to the prison tree, and even though there was still so much of this war to be fought, his heart sang.

Because they were finally the path to make his mate free.